For the fourth consecutive year, gifts by South Carolina Baptist churches to the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Empowering Kingdom Growth budget have surpassed the budget goal. Budget gifts for 2007 totaled $33,685,817, which exceeded the budget goal of $32,750,000 by $935,817 or 2.86 percent. Cooperative Program gifts totaled $33,478,768, which is $1,053,768 or 3.25 percent over the budget goal of $32,425,000.
Fifty percent of the Cooperative Program monies received beyond the budget are allocated both to the Southern Baptist Convention and the South Carolina Kingdom Challenge Fund.
Last year was also the first year ever that total gifts, including the three weeks of prayer offerings, exceeded $50 million. The Lottie Moon offering totaled $9,102,752 for an increase of $1,091,301 or 13.62 percent, while the Annie Armstrong offering totaled $3,886,643 for an increase of $85,442 or 2.25 percent, and Janie Chapman offering totaled $1,935,449 for an increase of $158,504 or 8.92 percent.
The 2008 Empowering Kingdom Growth budget is $33.95 million, an increase of $1.2 million over the 2007 budget.